Country music superstar Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, her family has announced
Country music superstar Dolly Parton has died at the age of 80, her family has sadly announced. The iconic musician was best known for her genre-defining hits including 9 To 5, I Will Always Love You and Jolene – which is is widely considered to be one of country music’s greatest songs.
In the video shared on Instagram, Dolly’s nephew said: “My name is Brian Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean.
“Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next.” He added: “This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Mr Seaver added: “It is an honour, an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly.
“Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens.”
Dolly’s beloved husband Carl Dean died last year in March 2025 aged 82, after they were married for almost 60 years. The pair met outside the Wishy Washy Laundromat the day she moved to Nashville when she was 18 and he was 23. They married on Memorial Day – May 30 1966 – in a small ceremony in Ringgold, Georgia.
The devastating news came just days after Dolly spoke publicly about her health. The music icon said she put her own health to the side while caring for her husband before his death last year.
She spoke about her health problems after she was forced to pull out of a Dollywood appearance earlier this month. She missed the opening night of a new attraction at her Tennessee theme park earlier this month after experiencing dizziness and dehydration, with doctors advising her against travel.
In the aftermath of the cancelled appearance, she told People: “I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.”
She added: “It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health. But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’.”
Dolly wrote I Will Always Love You – one of the defining love songs of the 20th century – as a goodbye to her former creative partner Porter Wagoner, who hired her to be his sidekick on The Porter Wagoner Show and helped her land a record deal.
The song became a blockbuster hit when Whitney Houston recorded a cover for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.
Dolly’s own film career began in 1980 when she starred in 9 To 5 with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. Her theme song for the movie became her first number one single on the Hot 100 chart in the US.
Her other notable film appearances include The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas alongside Burt Reynolds, Rhinestone with Sylvester Stallone, and Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts and Sally Field.
Dolly was born in a single-room cabin in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, in 1946, as the fourth of 12 children. She began her musical journey at the age of six, singing in the local church where her grandfather was the pastor.
By the age of 13, she had reached the pinnacle of country music success – an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
Over the course of her career, which spanned more than 60 years, Dolly sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and wrote more than 3,000 songs, including hits Coat Of Many Colours and Joshua.
She was a savvy businesswoman, with an empire including a theme park to her name, but also a pioneering philanthropist.
Her Imagination Library, a book-gifting programme devoted to inspiring a love of reading in children, has given more than 270 million books to children in need. The programme was started by Dolly in 1995, inspired by her father, who could not read or write.
